Parallel World Game Developer

Chapter 56: Chapter #56: Homecoming

There were countless intricate features buried deep in the code that typically went completely unnoticed by casual players.

But the moment Boba highlighted the latency calibration tool on her broadcast, the entire gaming community realized just how meticulously the developer crafted his game.

First Game News host Irina Jelavic immediately published a massive, highly technical editorial specifically breaking down this exact feature.

The article argued that just as hit-stun and visual feedback were the lifeblood of a pure action game, flawless judgment windows and dynamic latency calibration were the indispensable backbone of the rhythm genre.

[

sooman: Here we go again. They’re literally publishing daily articles praising the sadist. You’re telling me this isn’t a massive corporate crush?

Aidanas: The Former First Game News: We publish objective coverage on all gaming news. The Current First Game News: We are literally the official PR wing for Sprout Studio. Kappa]

thevidler: Keep posting them! I’m genuinely addicted to watching the sadist win!

Sfrawly: Irina, honestly you should probably just become a nun. There’s zero chance in this lifetime.

DJenkins: I literally died thousands of times just to clear that stage so the sadist would look my way. There’s no chance I’m letting some journalist steal him from me!

Syl: This is literally the first time in my entire life I’ve had to aggressively fight a woman for another man. I am crying real tears right now.

]

"Look at this, the entire internet is completely obsessed with your love life now," Marcus laughed.

He handed his smartphone over, pushing the screen directly in front of Ethan’s face.

"I genuinely refuse to believe she doesn’t have some kind of ulterior motive here," Marcus added, shaking his head.

The studio had officially started their winter holiday break, and the two founders were finally packing up to head home for Christmas.

"She’s literally just an industry acquaintance," Ethan replied, shaking his head and pushing the phone away.

He honestly didn’t have a very strong impression of the journalist, having only met her face-to-face a single time.

He could only vaguely remember that she had short hair and very pale skin. Beyond those basic features, she was a complete blur.

"You’re a highly successful corporate founder now. You really need to start paying attention to the girls circling around you," Marcus teased, deliberately poking Ethan’s arm with his elbow.

"We can have this conversation way later. I genuinely have zero romantic feelings for her," Ethan replied.

He and Marcus grabbed their coats and pulled the heavy glass doors of the studio shut together.

All the employees had already clocked out and headed home.

Looking through the transparent glass, the dark, empty bullpen was lined with rows of powered-down monitors.

Ethan and Marcus stood quietly at the entrance, taking one last, lingering look at the cramped studio space.

They were officially moving the company headquarters after the holidays.

Now that they were generating massive global revenue, it was only natural to upgrade to a much larger, premium working environment and purchase state-of-the-art hardware.

If Sprout Studio wanted to continue expanding its industry footprint, providing their staff with top-tier benefits and a comfortable workspace was an absolute requirement.

"I have to admit, I’m actually a little reluctant to leave this place behind," Ethan murmured.

"Who wouldn’t be?" Marcus smiled.

They had built their entire empire within these walls after moving out of their cramped student dorm.

Ethan laughed softly and patted his oldest friend on the shoulder.

"Alright, let’s get out of here. Merry Christmas, man. I’ll see you in January!"

"Yeah, see you then!" Marcus grinned.

...

Ethan’s family home was located in a quiet, rural town tucked away in Bozeman, Montana.

This was his very first time returning home since formally graduating from the university in Seattle.

He couldn’t help but smile to himself as he drove. So this is what they called a true homecoming?

Returning to this house felt vastly different than it had during his college years.

The exact moment he drove across the county line, a profound, inescapable wave of familiarity washed over his mind.

He had grown up in this small town, but after leaving for university, he had only returned home a handful of times over the past four years.

He bypassed the slightly congested main street, smoothly turning into his family’s residential neighborhood.

He parked his car in the driveway and carried his bags up the front steps.

Inside the modest living room, the family of three sat together.

Ethan sat quietly and obediently across from his parents.

After a long, heavy silence, Thomas Vale finally cleared his throat.

"Are you... really making actual money with this?"

"Yeah, I really am!" Ethan smiled warmly, nodding his head.

Seeing his parents again—even though they technically belonged to a different timeline and a parallel Earth—still filled his chest with a deep, profound sense of closeness.

In his previous life, he had built a massive fortune developing video games.

Tragically, his original parents had passed away long before they could ever enjoy the wealth he accumulated.

"Wow, who knew you could actually make a living just by creating video games..." Thomas muttered.

He idly fiddled with his smartphone, his voice thick with complex emotion.

Ethan spent the next hour patiently and seriously answering all of his parents’ confused questions.

By the end of the conversation, the two just shook their heads with regretful, helpless smiles.

"We honestly still don’t understand any of it."

They had desperately tried to follow the logic, but quickly realized it was mentally impossible for them to comprehend the digital empire their son was describing.

"The times are just changing way too fast," Thomas sighed heavily.

"Back when I was a young man, your grandfather used to take me up into the deep mountains to hunt."

"Those were the happiest days of my life, tracking down wild rabbits and bringing them home to roast over an open fire."

"But once the strict seasonal limits and hunting bans went into effect, all of that joy just slowly disappeared."

The light in his father’s eyes dimmed slightly.

He didn’t bother recounting the rest of the story. That was the exact moment he had been forced to start working grueling, miserable jobs just to survive.

Ethan froze slightly when he heard the word hunting.

In his previous life, he remembered his father frequently mentioning those old hunting trips when he was just a kid.

But as the years ground on, his father had seemingly either forgotten those memories entirely or simply felt it was pointless to dwell on the past.

"Dad... do you honestly still want to go hunting?" Ethan asked, a sudden, bright spark lighting up his eyes.

Hearing the story had just instantly triggered a memory of a specific, phenomenal game from his past life.

"Look, I know you have a lot of money now, but you absolutely cannot mess around with that! We are not breaking the law!" Thomas’s eyes widened in sheer panic.

Off-season private hunting on restricted land was strictly forbidden by the local authorities.

"I’m not talking about breaking the law! I’m talking about building a video game so you can hunt in a digital simulation," Ethan quickly explained.

"Inside the simulation, you can hunt absolutely whatever you want."

"Black bears, coyotes, rabbits, whitetail deer... as long as you pack the right caliber rifle, you can even bag a massive moose."

"The game will even have a massive, customizable lodge where you can taxidermy and display your trophies."

"Wait, you can really do all of that inside a computer?"

Thomas was visibly moved by Ethan’s pitch, but he quickly shook his head in dismissal.

"What is the actual point of hunting inside a computer?" Thomas sighed, waving his hand dismissively.

"How can you possibly feel the true weight of the wilderness while staring at a plastic screen?"

"You were just born in a bad era, son. If things had been different, I would have taken you up into the mountains for days at a time!"

Thomas rubbed his calloused hands together.

His eyes were entirely glazed over with nostalgia as he stared out the living room window.

Ethan just offered a quiet, noncommittal smile. "I promise, I’ll find a way to let you feel it."

"I don’t even know how to hold a controller," Thomas chuckled, waving him off.

"And even if I’m not a master tracker, you definitely don’t know the first thing about real hunting."

"Just give me a little bit of time. You’ll see," Ethan promised.

"And if you want to know how I’m going to understand the wilderness, my only answer is that I have a very powerful computer."

"You cocky little brat!" his father laughed.

"You haven’t been home in forever, and it’s still way too early for dinner. Do you want to go for a walk around the neighborhood?" Thomas asked, pointing toward the front door.

Ethan nodded in immediate agreement. He genuinely wanted to stretch his legs and get some fresh air.

The absolute second they stepped out of the front door and onto the driveway, Thomas’s eyes locked onto Ethan’s parked car.

"Wait, is this yours?"

"Yeah..." Ethan replied cautiously.

"Because you made a little bit of money?"

"Yeah..."

"You call this a little bit of money?!" Thomas yelled, slapping the hood of the sleek luxury vehicle.

"This thing easily cost you fifty grand, right?!"

"It’s just a reliable commuter car," Ethan quickly deflected.

"Besides, haven’t I been wiring cash directly into your bank account this entire time?"

"Oh my god, he calls this a basic commuter car!" Thomas groaned, dramatically clutching his chest.

He had known his kid was doing well for himself, but now he was morbidly curious about exactly how vast his son’s corporate empire actually was.

"You told us you were sending money home, but we haven’t touched a single cent in that account!"

"That cash is strictly reserved for your future wedding!" Thomas scolded, heavily patting Ethan on the shoulder while glaring at him with wide, intense eyes.

"Ethan... exactly how much money have you made from these video games?" Martha Vale finally asked, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer.

The neighbor’s kid had landed a decent corporate job right out of college, pulling in a few thousand dollars a month.

They had always assumed Ethan was doing slightly better, maybe clearing the low tens of thousands.

But looking at the luxury car parked in front of them, the financial reality was clearly much more severe.

"Well, right now, the development costs are pretty high, so the studio spends a massive amount of our gross revenue."

"My current, usable liquid capital is only sitting at a few million dollars," Ethan answered honestly.

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Stones... Stones... I need some stones...

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